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Schoharie HS junior gets on-the-job experience for the City of Albany

Jacob is seen working with other students at BOCES earlier in the year before the COVID-19 crisis. He is now working for the City of Albany.

He may only be a junior in high school, but a Schoharie student who is in the Capital Region BOCES Diesel Tech program is using his skills in a professional setting alongside veteran mechanics and equipment operators.

Jacob Newell is working in the Albany City Heavy Vehicle Repair Shop and the city landfill, using the skills he is learning at BOCES in the real world setting of city equipment maintenance.

“He is actively involved in the diagnosis and repair of dozers, excavators, tractor trailers, landfill compactors, single dual axel trucks, skid steers, wheel loaders, etc,” said Joseph Giebelhaus, executive deputy commissioner of the Department of General Services for the City of Albany.

Specifically, the commissioner said, the junior has “conducted work on International trucks, configurations including waste collection packers, dump truck and bucket trucks, as well as John Deere loaders and Caterpillar D6 dozers, Elgin and Ravo street sweepers.”

Teacher Sam Frink said Newell is “a good kid who is gaining an amazing work experience.”

Giebelhaus noted that the student is not only working, but learning.

Newell “has not only had an opportunity to practice his vocational skills but also learn from professionals in the field,” he said.

Newell said he is enjoying the opportunity.

“Working there is fun and I get to learn a lot about diesel trucks and some of the common parts that break, how to fix them and the ways to diagnose which part actually has a problem and how to fix it,” he said.

Newell is one approximately 40 Diesel Tech students currently enrolled in the program, which is located on the BOCES Albany campus. The Diesel Tech program prepares youth for careers as automotive/bus/truck technicians, heavy equipment repairmen, service managers and more. While many students enter the workforce upon graduation, numerous other students from the program often pursue further education.